Mercatus Center at George Mason University - Browse Research Areas : Social Change Project

Social Change Project

The Social Change Project of the Mercatus Center at George Mason University supports a global network of interdisciplinary scholars whose research advances an understanding of social change. Scholars work to develop a more practical understanding of how social change occurs, particularly the "institutional choice" approach to the study of social change, and how to create a freer society.

In pursuit of this, we have organized our research agenda in order to make progress toward answering what we have identified as crucial questions of social change, such as:

Which institutions (social, economic, and legal arrangements) underpin a free society?
How do people make decisions about institutions?
How do values and belief systems affect institutions and vice versa?
How are institutions modified and/or sustained?
How do individuals interact with institutions to affect change that persists?

Through the Social Change Project we aim to provide social entrepreneurs with the necessary tools to shepherd a social innovation through the structure of production, from the idea stage to the implementation stage, in order to further the conditions necessary for human flourishing.

Research Efforts

Academic Conferences

Mercatus Center academic conferences bring together members of our growing network of leading scholars, for intensive, workshop-style meetings that provide a forum for a rigorous exchange of ideas and energize exciting new research agendas in social change. Conferences are by invitation only and limited in size to ensure productive, interdisciplinary dialogue aimed at furthering leading edge scholarship. Click here for a listing of past conferences.

Mercatus Lecture Series

The Mercatus Lecture Series brings social change scholars and practitioners to Mercatus to present their ideas, in an informal and collegial setting. Presentations and discussions are open to the public. These events offer anyone interested in the latest in institutional scholarship, development practice, social entrepreneurship, and everything else "social change," the opportunity to interact with and learn from the individuals leading the charge toward a better understanding of social change.

Workshop in Philosophy, Politics and Economics

The Workshop in Philosophy, Politics and Economics was established to encourage and explore the latest research that lies at the intersection of these three disciplines by scholars across the social sciences and humanities. Led by Mercatus Scholar and George Mason Professor of Economics, Peter Boettke, the workshop rotates between its Mercatus Center and GMU-Fairfax locations, and is centered around paper presentations by scholars from around the world.

Visiting Scholar Program

Leading institutional specialists from the academy spend up to one month at the Mercatus Center, interacting with Mercatus Center and George Mason University scholars, bringing their ideas to policy makers in Congress and the Administration through Mercatus’s suite of programs, and taking time to further their own work in an intellectually stimulating environment.

Global Prosperity Initiative

The Global Prosperity Initiative of the Mercatus Center at George Mason University invests in and trains scholars whose work addresses the question, "Why do some societies prosper, while others remain stagnant and poor?" Mercatus conducts research and then applies the findings to problems of international economic development as well as economic stagnation and decline in the United States.

Working Papers

The Mercatus Center’s Working Paper Series is designed to give our affiliated scholars opportunities to solicit feedback on their research efforts before the papers are submitted to formal peer-review conferences at journals and publications.

Graduate Student Support

The Mercatus Center also promotes scholarship in social change through support and training of graduate students at George Mason University. To this end, the Mercatus Center provides fellowships, offers Graduate Student Paper Workshops (Wednesdays at 10:30am), runs the Social Change Workshop which facilitates our research on post-Katrina New Orleans and supports the Workshop in Philosophy, Politics and Economics.

Ideas into Action E-newsletter

To sign up for the Social Change Project's e-newsletter, Ideas into Action, please contact Stan Tsirulnikov at stsiruln@gmu.edu.

Recent Publications:

	Tax and Expenditure Limits for Long-Run Fiscal Stability October 28, 2009 Mercatus On Policy Emily Washington, Frederic Sautet
	In the public sector, no tool adjusts spending to changing conditions. In the current recession, many states have decreased revenues, but little decreased spending has been seen. This pattern raises a difficult question: How do states correct for the inflexibility in spending cuts?
	Fiscal Crisis and Institutional Change in the Ottoman Empire and France October 23, 2009 Journal Articles Eliana Balla, Noel D. Johnson
	Why is it that some countries adopted growth enhancing institutions earlier than others during the early-modern period? We address this question through a comparative study of the evolution of French and Ottoman fiscal institutions.
	Economic Freedom, Culture, and Growth October 23, 2009 Working Papers Claudia Williamson, Rachel Mathers
	How do economic freedom and culture impact economic growth? This paper argues that culture and economic institutions, specifically economic freedom, both play a role in economic development independently, but the strength of their impact can only be better understood when both are included in the growth regression.
	Invitation to Political Economy: Berger and the Comedic Drama of Political, Economic, and Social Life October 19, 2009 Working Papers Peter Boettke
	This working paper compares and contrasts two books that are intended as invitations to their respective disciplines: Berger‘s Invitation to Sociology and Thomas Mayer‘s Invitation to Economics (2009) and then sees what is common to both invitations concerning the subject matter to which understanding is hoped for.
	The Second Road to Phenomenological Sociology: Socioontology and the Question of Order October 14, 2009 Working Papers Patrik Aspers
	Few social scientists have taken the direct route to the roots of phenomenology. They have instead been lead, guided and accompanied by others, whose works have been like bridges of knowledge. The work that has spawned the interest among social scientists in phenomenology is Peter Berger and Thomas Luckmann's famous work The Social Construction of Reality (1991; Berger 1970:15).
	Rethinking Institutional Analysis: Interviews with Vincent and Elinor Ostrom October 12, 2009 Research Papers/Studies Paul Dragos Aligica
	On November 7th, 2003, the Fund for the Study of Spontaneous Orders, the Atlas Economic Research Foundation, the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, and the Institute for Humane Studies honored Vincent and Elinor Ostrom with a Lifetime Achievement Award for their pioneering contributions to the field of political economy through their work on institutional reform, common pool resources, self-governance, and a variety of other topics. In honor of this award, Paul Dragos Aligica interviewed the scholars on their work in institutional analysis.
	Corruption is Bad for Growth (Even in the United States) August 28, 2009 Working Papers Courtney L. LaFountain, Noel D. Johnson, Steven Yamarik
	This paper estimates the impact of corruption on growth of output per worker in U.S. states. The authors find that corruption plays a significant and causal role in lowering growth and investment across the States.
	Doing the Right Things: The Private Sector Response to Hurricane Katrina as a Case Study in the Bourgeois Virtues August 27, 2009 Working Papers Steven Horwitz
	Major American companies from Marriott to McDonald’s to Wal-Mart undertook major and minor acts of bourgeois virtue and contributed in a significant way to the recovery from Hurricane Katrina. Doing the right thing” was central to their response. What constituted “doing the right thing,” how the very nature of large capitalist enterprises made doing “right” possible, and how doing “right” improved conditions after Katrina is explored in this working paper.
	Preparing for Pandemic Flu April 30, 2009 Mercatus On Policy Tyler Cowen
	Since 2006, Congress has allocated millions of dollars to preparations for an influenza pandemic. While preparation for a pandemic has improved somewhat, such preparation needs to occur in ways that are politically sustainable and remain useful even if a pandemic does not occur. First, Americans need to accept that we can’t “stop” a pandemic; we can only lessen its effects. Second, we need to acknowledge in our policies that the best response to such disasters is a decentralized one.
	Freedom in the 50 States: An Index of Personal and Economic Freedom February 26, 2009 Research Papers/Studies Jason Sorens, William P. Ruger
	This paper presents the first-ever comprehensive ranking of the American states on their public policies affecting individual freedoms in the economic, social, and personal spheres. It develops and justifies the ratings and aggregation procedure on explicitly normative criteria, defining individual freedom as the ability to dispose of one’s own life, liberty, and justly acquired property however one sees fit, so long as one does not coercively infringe on other individuals’ ability to do the same.
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Recent Events:

	Rational Homeland Security: Lowering Obstacles and Creating Economic and Socially Sensible Policies Capitol Hill Campus September 19, 200712:30 PM
	Although the federal government spends tens of billions of dollars annually on homeland security, Americans remain unsure about the nation's ability to respond to disaster - whether natural or manmade. It seems that regardless of how much we spend and plan, we are unable to substantially reduce the harm done by disasters or prepare communities for emergencies.
	Cognition, Learning, and Social Change Conferences and Workshops October 27, 2000
	Nobel Laureate Douglass North worked with the Mercatus Center at George Mason University and the KNEXUS research project at Stanford University to host a series of workshops on Knowledge, Social Change, and Economic Performance. The purpose of these workshops was to begin to develop hypotheses about the dynamic relationships between cognition and social change.
	Religion, Economics, & Culture Conferences and Workshops October 24, 200308:30 AM
	The Mercatus Center and the Center for the Economic Study of Religion, CESR, sponsored the second annual conference on Religion Economics and Culture to establish economic methodology as a recognized and respected approach to the study of religion and spirituality. Ten miltu-paper sessions presented research on topics such as the rise of Pentecostalism in the former Soviet Union and Latin America; the origins of religious liberty in Britain and the U.S; the impact of religion on education in rural India; and a study of factors that make religious kibbutzim more stable than secular ones. Noted economist Deirdre McCloskey gave a keynote address on "The Bourgeois Virtues." In her talk, Professor McCloskey equated the virtue of "prudence" with the economic notion of utility maximization.
	Rebuilding in the Wake of Crisis: Lessons from Hurricane Recovery Capital Campus November 13, 200712:00 PM
	The recent fires in California were among the worst in the state's history, leaving extraordinary damage in their wake; 8 deaths, 2,000 homes destroyed, 640,000 residents displaced, and damage estimates surpassing one billion dollars. Now, with the worst of the fires now behind them, communities are beginning to rebuild. But what role can policy makers have in rebuilding, and how can they best understand the process?
	The South African Election and Development Policy Mercatus Lecture Series March 25, 200912:30 PM
	The Social Change Project at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University presented a lecture by Karol Boudreaux, Senior Research Fellow at the Mercatus Center and Lead Researcher for Enterprise Africa!. Ms. Boudreaux discussed the upcoming South African election, the key policy issues facing South Africa, and the election's potential effect on economic growth and development.
	What's Working in Post-Katrina Recovery: Is the Gulf Coast Open for Business? Conferences and Workshops July 29, 200812:00 PM
	On July 29, 2008, the Mercatus Center will hot a panel to discuss release a compilation of post-Katrina research and analysis that will consist of six policy papers exploring the role of businesses and entrepreneurs in post-Katrina recovery, each with recommendations for change and illustrated by a case study of a local citizen who has struggled against the odds for survival and contributed valuable lessons learned to his/her community in the process. The compendium will also include reviews of popular books and a reference list of research related to Gulf Coast recovery.
	Freedom in the 50 States: An Index of Personal and Economic Freedom Release Event Mercatus Event February 26, 200910:00 AM AM

	The Crisis in Public Safety Communications Conferences and Workshops December 8, 200608:00 AM
	The Crisis in Public Safety Communications brought together prominent scholars, policymakers, and industry officials to discuss solutions to this deadly serious problem. Major telecommunications scholars presented groundbreaking research on what causes the lack of effective communication between local public safety personnel, and how U.S. spectrum policies have failed to remedy this Balkanization problem. This research was then discussed by two panels of industry executives, public safety officials, and policymakers with deep knowledge of the problems confronting us.
	The Crisis of Katrina: Lessons for Preparedness and Response Speeches and Presentations August 23, 200609:00 AM
	Scholars from the Mercatus Center at George Mason University released preliminary findings of a five-year research project analyzing these issues with commentary provided by journalists from the National Journal and Pulitzer Prize winning New Orleans Times-Picayune.